Chapter 16
The next day, Ando was back in Tatsuno’s formal attire for the first time in a while.
Among the belongings Antonius had packed were the clothes he’d worn in Imresia—but to his surprise, none of them fit him anymore. He hadn’t noticed it at all, yet over the span of a few months, his frame had broadened.
With Kiba at his side, he mounted Kito and followed the Dracoserpens who had brought the letter, heading out from Hokurin toward a nearby settlement.
What he found there caught him off guard.
Every Dracoserpens was dressed in Tatsuno’s formal attire.
“Apparently showing up as we are—” Hasu gestured at herself with a grin “—comes off as rude to humans. Or worse, uncivilized.” She shrugged. “We get the occasional visitor from outside, so we keep these on hand. Not exactly comfortable, though.”
She lifted a sleeve, clearly pleased with the bright, elaborate garments.
“The attire becomes you well,” Ando said.
She dipped her head, a touch flustered—but clearly pleased.
Then something seemed to occur to her. She clapped her hands softly and leaned in, murmuring something to Ando and Kiba.
Kiba drew back, exasperation plain on his face.
“I thought you felt sorry for us, the way Yuki keeps dragging us into things,” he said. “And now you’re doing the same?”
“Kiba,” Hasu said lightly, “it’s diplomacy. Better we set the tone before anyone else does, then hand things off to Yuki. That way we’re the ones steering it.”
Kiba’s expression hardened.
“Mind what you say to the envoy. Anything that might jeopardize Ando’s standing in Imresia is out of the question.”
“Oh, please. If anything, this will make them think even more highly of him. Leave it to me.”
She flashed a mischievous wink, then turned and headed toward the Mews to fetch her raptor.
Behind her, Kiba let out a long, weary sigh.
Kiba turned back to Ando.
“…It seems we’ve drawn you further into this than I would have wished.”
“My lord, it does not trouble me,” Ando replied at once, straightening. “If I may be of service, I am content.”
Kiba studied him for a moment—too earnest, too ready—and something in his expression tightened. He stepped closer and set a hand on each of Ando’s shoulders.
“Listen to me,” he said, more quietly. “You are walking a narrow line now. Imresia will look to you. So will we.”
His grip was steady, not harsh—meant to steady him, not restrain him.
“If ever you find yourself unsure, you put Imresia first. Do not waver.”
Ando hesitated, clearly wanting to answer, to promise something more.
“My lord… I—”
Kiba cut him off, the words coming before he could temper them.
“Let them see your feelings, and they’ll use them. Let them see you hesitate, and they’ll stop trusting you.”
He drew a slow breath, as though the truth of it weighed on him as much as it would on the boy.
“This is how it works,” he went on, more measured now. “You don’t have to like it. Neither do I.”
For a moment, his hand remained on Ando’s shoulder—then eased, just slightly.
“I know you would repay what you feel you owe us. Leave that aside. For now, act only for the sake of your liege. That is how you keep your footing… and keep yourself safe.”
Ando nodded, though the weight of it had not truly settled in him. He understood the words—but not yet what they would demand of him.
Kiba saw that as well.
There was more he could have said—warnings, cautions, the shape of what lay ahead—but Ando had never stood in such a place. He would not understand it yet. And forcing it on him now would serve no one.
Tatsuno needed him. Yuki had made light of it, but Kiba knew better—sending Ando back to Imresia was not an option, not if he could help it.
They would use him. They had to.
And that, more than anything, sat ill with him.
“…Forgive me,” he said at last, voice low. “For putting you in the middle of this.”
Ando shook his head at once.
He faltered, searching for words, then gave up and simply looked up at him instead.
Somewhere along the way, he had come to value this more than anything— the steady weight of Kiba’s hand resting on his head.
